Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall in the Francis Ford Coppola movie ‘The Godfather Part II’

Matt Lynn Digital reviewed the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather (1972) in January 2023. Today, we look to Ford Coppola‘s sequel as released in December 1974, namely The Godfather Part II (1974). Both claim the Mario Puzo book The Godfather as source material, with screenwriting credit for Puzo and Ford Coppola.

(From left, Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen and Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather Part II).

The original movie told the story of a clandestine organized crime dynasty’s transfer from an aging patriarch to a reluctant son of the original; the second movie tells of the early life and career of that patriarch from Sicily, Italy to New York City, New York as prequel while showing the son expand and control the dynasty as sequel. This storytelling decision to expand upon the original while speaking to the fate of the Don Vito Corleone’s family broke cinematic ground with meaning while offering satisfaction.

(From left, Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone and Leopoldo Trieste as Signor Roberto in the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather Part II).

The story of Don Michael Corleone within The Godfather Part II opens in 1958 in Lake Tahoe on the California and Nevada border, accepting meetings in that role on the day of his son’s First Communion. Capo Frankie Pentangeli raises dismay about extracurricular behavior in the Bronx by Jewish mobster Hyman Roth’s organization. Meanwhile, Senator Pat Geary insults the Corleones specifically and Italians generally, demanding a bribe for casino operations that Michael aims not to pay. A failed assassination attempt on Michael Corleone leads him, while departing, to confide in consiglieri Tom Hagan that he, Corleone, fears a traitor exists within the organization. Al Pacino, Michael V. Gazzo, Lee Strasberg, G.D. Spradlin and Robert Duvall portrayed Corleone, Pantengeli, Roth, Geary and Hagan, respectively.

(Giuseppe Sillato as Don Francesco in the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather Part II).

The story of Don Vito Corleone starts within The Godfather Part II as nine-year-old Vito Andolini in the Corleone neighborhood of Sicily in 1901. An insult to Mafia chieftain Don Francesco by Vito’s father led to the murder of Vito’s family, with Vito fleeing to New York City with the name Vito Corleone. It was 1917 that Vito loses his job due to interference by Don Fanucci before Vito’s neighbor, Peter Clemenza, asks Vito to hold some guns to avoid criminal consequences. The pair later strike up the beginnings of the Corleone crime empire while we get to meet Vito’s wife, Carmela, and the couple’s four kids. Oreste Baldini, Giuseppe Sillato, Robert De Niro, Gastone Moschin, Bruno Kirby, Francesca De Sapio, Roman Coppola and Louis Marino portrayed Vito Andolini – as a Boy, Don Francesco, Vito Corleone, Don Fanucci, young Peter Clemenza, young Carmela Corleone, Sonny Corleone – as a Boy and young Michael Corleone.

(From left, Al Pacino as Michael Corleone and John Cazale as Fredo Corleone in the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather Part II).

The stories escalate from there, with Michael moving against Geary for political support while aiming for business plans in Cuba. Intrigue with Pentangeli and Roth bring Johnny Ola and Fredo Corleone into clearer focus, while Geary goes to bat for Michael Corleone and the Corleone criminal enterprise against a Senate Committee in Washington DC. When Mama (Carmela) Corleone as portrayed by Morgana King, drama for Michael comes full force with revelations for Connie, Fredo, Kay and the ongoing legacy of the family. Meanwhile with the prequel, a partnership with Salvatore Tessio brings additional friction with Don Fanucci that leads to the initial expansion of the Corleone crime family that many years later becomes the storyline explored with Michael. Dominic Chianese, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton and John Aprea portrayed Johnny Ola, Fredo Corleone, Connie Corleone, Kay Adams Corleone, and Young (Salvatore) Tessio, respectively.

(Diane Keaton as Kay Adams Corleone in the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather Part II).

The Godfather Part II movie raises so many questions and suspense that are resolved with clarity, directness and brutality. Loyalty and betrayal are strong themes running throughout; that the story of Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone have moved from an initial innocence to an assertive, yet seemingly principled criminal philosophy is remarkable and substantial when looked at in parallel. I grant The Godfather Part II as directed by Francis Ford Coppola 4.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, April 6, 2024

Mitch Rapp and the book ‘Total Power’ by Kyle Mills

Kyle Mills continues the Mitch Rapp series of books (book sequence here) created by Vince Flynn with the nineteenth (19th) book in the series, the sixth written by Mills. With Total Power, we see a threat to the United States power grid from ISIS (sometimes called ISIL, Daesh, or more simply, IS). The book unfolds with traditional terrorist suspense and a splash of the typical lack of political will, with a stronger bit of terrorism skill baked in.

(Kyle Mills, shown here, wrote Total Power as his sixth book in the Mitch Rapp series created by Vince Flynn).

The first movements of the story within Total Power introduce the political intrigue associated with the cost of infrastructure updates to the power grid in the United States, along with the vulnerability of the network if a knowledgeable actor with evil intent along with the proper knowledge planned to exploit what weaknesses exist in the system. The underlying issue of coordinated attacks of strategic execution could plunge the United States in darkness for well beyond days, weeks or months before an effective government or free market response could be forthcoming.

(Alternative covers for Total Power as written by Kyle Mills. Total Power is the 19th book in the Mitch Rapp series as created by Vince Flynn).

The second movements of the story bring Mitch Rapp, the force of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a US president nearing the end of his presidential leadership to bear on an imminent attack staged at the moment the issue is under attack. The attack, though led by ISIS, actually has a bite beyond the jihadist skill to deploy the attack. Despite an explicit effort led by Rapp and a capable team of counter-terrorists, the attempt to thwart the attack is detected ahead of the CIA trap that had been laid. The attack that both infiltrated ISIS and the United States power grid, plunged the mainland into darkness that would last for weeks or months. Effectively, the United States had been crippled with no effective ability to recover.

(Vince Flynn, shown here, created the Mitch Rapp series of books. Flynn wrote the first thirteen books in the series).

With the skills of Mitch Rapp and his team now tactically eliminated, the investigate, infiltrate and get to the knowledgeable few became the third movement of Total Power. The world of malfunctioning infrastructure, computers and communication systems down, and starvation, death and inevitable rioting with little capacity for countering the chaos became the name of the response. The means for getting to a legitimate solution that addressed the infrastructure, and those who damaged it were the odds that needed to be addressed. Would those odds be overcome? You know it would be.

That the narrative telling of Mitch Rapp moved almost strictly into ways to address a power grid attack where powerlessness to respond was at stake was unique and appreciated. This change worked for me more at a high level, though the bigger issue that I found was that there really was only one plausible way that the solution to the problem of that powerlessness was going to be resolved. That I was in tune with how things worked out earlier in the book than I wanted to know proved disappointing. As for Total Power written by Kyle Mills, I give the book 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, March 20, 2023

Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman and Ed Harris in the Clint Eastwood movie ‘Absolute Power’

Starring in the movie Absolute Power (1997) wasn’t enough for Clint Eastwood, who produced and directed the movie based on the 1996 David Baldacci novel also named Absolute Power. This crime drama is filled with action and political intrigue involving the United States president, a billionaire, a master thief and what happens when those elements collide.

(From left, Melora Hardin as Christy Sullivan and Gene Hackman as President Alan Richmond in the Clint Eastwood movie Absolute Power).

Absolute Power opens with master thief Luther Whitney having broken into the Washington DC area mansion of billionaire Walter Sullivan to steal, at minimum, from the bedroom vault of the man portrayed by E.G. Marshall. Whitney, as portrayed by Clint Eastwood, finds himself forced to hide in the bedroom vault with one-way mirror of the Virginia mansion when  Christy Sullivan returns to the bedroom on a drunken rendezvous with inebriated U.S. President Alan Richmond. Whitney watches as Richmond becomes sexually violent towards Sullivan, with Sullivan wounding the president with a letter opener in self-defense. Melora Hardin and Gene Hackman portrayed Christy Sullivan and President Richmond, respectively.

(From left, Scott Glenn as Bill Burton, Judy Davis as Gloria Russell and Dennis Haysbert as Tim Collin in the Clint Eastwood movie Absolute Power).

U.S. Secret Service agents Bill Burton and Tim Collin burst in when the president screams out in distress. Christy Sullivan is fatally shot when Burton and Collin, respectively portrayed by Scott Glenn and Dennis Haysbert, see Sullivan poised to stab Alan Richmond a second time. Presidential Chief of Staff Gloria Russell, as portrayed by Judy Davis, arrives to guide the secret service agents in staging the scene to look like a burglary gone wrong. Whitney goes undiscovered through much of this staging, not being discovered until making what turns out to be a successful escape from the scene of the crimes.

(From left, Ed Harris as Seth Frank and Clint Eastwood as Luther Whitney in the Clint Eastwood movie Absolute Power).

Portrayed by Ed Harris, Detective Seth Frank leads the police investigation into the Christy Sullivan death that had been staged to look like a burglary gone wrong. Whitney becomes a prime suspect in the investigation, which brings Luther Whitney’s estranged daughter Kate Whitney, as portrayed by Laura Linney, into the storyline.

(From left, E.G. Marshall as Walter Sullivan and Gene Hackman as President Alan Richmond in the Clint Eastwood movie Absolute Power).

Luther Whitney had a mind to flee the country in the aftermath of his escape from the Sullivan mansion. Becoming angry when seeing Alan Richmond offer an expression of empathy to Walter Sullivan following Christy Sullivan’s death that points to the cover-up, Luther Whitney changes course to one of proving the duplicity of Alan Richmond to Walter Sullivan. The portrayal of that, combined with the motivations and actions underpinning Richmond, Walter Sullivan, Bill Burton, Tim Collin, Michael McCarty as portrayed by Richard Jenkins, and others, offer a compelling line of intrigue and tension around how the competing end games will work themselves out.

(From left, Laura Linney as Kate Whitney and Richard Jenkins as Michael McCarty in the Clint Eastwood movie Absolute Power).

William Goldman proved a capable screenwriter in adapting Absolute Power for the movies. The ride offered intrigue, suspense and emotional stakes to allow me to recommend this movie for viewing. I give Absolute Power as directed and produced by Clint Eastwood 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, December 9, 2023

Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone in the Martin Scorsese movie ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Set primarily in Osage County, Oklahoma, the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) is based largely on the David Grann book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. That intrigue around the murders of a Native American tribe relocated to Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas with negotiated mineral rights led to government sanctioned theft, racism, and at least tacit sanctioning of murder against Osage Indians generally is where the book and the movie begin to intersect. The Federal Bureau of Investigation under J. Edgar Hoover, as a growing investigative service, provides another intersection point.

(From left, Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart, Scott Shepherd as Byron Burkhart, Robert De Niro as William King Hale, Katherine Willis as Myrtle Hale and Delani Chambers as Willie Hale in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

With movie writing credits to Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, the murdering of Osage people for oil rights on a one-by-one basis is the focus. Prior to the realization of this, the introduction of a modicum of Osage cultural tradition with the burial of the a ceremonial pipe, mourning their descendants’ assimilation into white American society. Sharing the yearly “flower moon” phenomenon of Oklahoma fields of bloom, we soon see several Osage dancing among oil gushing from the ground in their territory. Assuming the Osage “incompetent” to manage money in the American sense of it, Osage are assigned allotments of money in full and half-blood members headrights, which cannot be sold and transfer through inheritance to relatives upon death. In addition to graft that is addressed yet is not central to the movie, an incentive for untimely deaths had been created for unscrupulous whites.

(From left, Lily Gladstone as Mollie Kyle Burkhart and Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

It is with this background that we meet Ernest Burkhart, as portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. Having returned from World War One service unintelligent and greedy, Ernest moves in with his brother, Byron Burkhart as portrayed by Scott Shepherd, and his uncle William King Hale as portrayed by Robert De Niro. It’s on the family ranch that we learn of Hale‘s giving gifts to the Osage and speaking their language while serving in a neglectful law enforcement capacity. The depths of Hale‘s conniving against that proposed interest includes suggesting to Ernest Burhart‘s that his nephew strike up a romance with Mollie Kyle, who takes the Burkhart surname when Ernest and Molly marry in a ceremony with Osage and Roman Catholic elements. Lily Gladstone portrayed Mollie Kyle Burkhart, with Mollie’s relationship with Ernest Burkhart becoming a central focus of the movie.

(From left, Cara Jade Myers as Anna Brown, Tantoo Cardinal as Lizzie Q, Jillian Dion as Minnie Smith and Janae Collins as Reta Smith in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

The criminal enterprise elements of the movie grow from here into what we see to be patterns of attack on the wealth and people of the Osage nation in general and Mollie Kyle Burkhart‘s family specifically. The patterns of attack on Lizzie Q, Anna Brown, Minnie Smith and Reta Smith, as portrayed by Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, Jillian Dion and Janae Collins, respectively, being front and center in the murderous plots. It is the escalating plot geared at Bill Smith‘s two wives (Minnie and Reta) and Ernest‘s wife (Molly), in addition to the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot that occurred with an arguably equivalent impunity, led to the Osage tribe’s council seeking reprieve in Washington DC against the corrupt forces in play on the Osage reservation, including a direct appeal to United States president Calvin Coolidge. Jason Isbell portrayed Bill Smith.

(From left, Jesse Plemons as Thomas Bruce White Sr., Tatanka Means as John Wren, John Lithgow as Prosecutor Peter Leaward and Brendan Fraser as W.S. Hamilton in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

Despite of and in the face of these developments, William King Hale escalates his criminality further with the killing of Henry Roan, Mollie‘s first husband as portrayed by William Belleau, the ordering of the murdering of his own hired killers, and unsuccessfully attempting to murder Ernest after he testifies against his uncle. The Bureau of Investigation inquest by agents Thomas Bruce White Sr. and John Wren leads to a trial litigated by Prosecutor Peter Leaward. W.S. Hamilton defends William King Hale and Ernest Burkhart. Jesse Plemons, Tatanka Means, John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser portrayed White Sr., Wren, Leaward and Hamilton, respectively.

(From left, director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro on set for the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

The means of bringing together the larger questions of the fates of William King Hale, Ernest Burkhart, Molly Kyle Burkhart and Anna Brown through a dramatized radio program intermixed with flashback provided an unexpected and dramatically cinematic flare to the movie’s resolution. The movie reels of the Tulsa Race Riots in addition to the opening storytelling tributes to the silent movie era of cinema were appreciated artful touches at earlier parts of the movie. These elevation points raised the bar for me on what quality filmmaking truly can be. It is with these points as backdrops to the story told that I grant Killers of the Flower Moon as directed by Martin Scorsese with a highly accomplished cast 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, November 4, 2023

Wil Haygood and the book ‘Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America’

Among his many legal successes arguing cases across the United States and in the south, Thurgood Marshall would be confirmed to the Supreme Court by the United States Senate after being nominated by United States President Lyndon Baines Johnson. The successful nomination was unprecedented on multiple scores, which is the subject of the Wil Haygood book Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America.

(From left, Supreme Court Justice and NAACP leader Thurgood Marshall and US President Lyndon Baines Johnson).

The five-day hearing of the U.S. Senate that confirmed Thurgood Marshall, of New York, the first African-American Supreme Court justice on July 13th, 14th, 18th, 19th and 24th, 1967 are the central timeline that Wil Haygood uses to share Marshall‘s biography. At state in Marshall‘s life story were the stakes of the American civil rights movement of the era, with Justice Marshall‘s career, preceding legal practice and social activity geared at moving the dial forward. Marshall led the legal case that legally struck down the separate-but-equal doctrine, which led to school integration (Brown v. Board of Education overturning Plessy v. Ferguson). Haygood documented scores of legal defenses for the underrepresented and unfairly attacked. These points and more established Marshall‘s candidacy for the supreme court. The establishing of that background, and the tactics used against him through the Supreme Court hearing, have been replicated in the Senate since.

(The book Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination that Changed America by writer Wil Haygood was published September 15, 2015).

The Marshall nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in September 1961 by U.S. President John F. Kennedy by southern US senators for many months. James O. Eastland of Mississippi, a noted southern US senator with a similar motivation through the Supreme Court nomination, aimed to stack the deck. The tactics of Strom Thurmond of South Carolina was given notable attention through this biography as well.

(This image of Wil Haygood shows the biographer alongside the original cover for his book Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination that Changed America).

There is much to recommend the story of this book from an educational and entertainment perspective. There are life lessons and philosophical approaches to life and intellect that offer insight, along with the underlying drama and contributing actions of two separate presidents in aiming to successfully nominate a qualified jurist. The history lessons in the subject matter, the tactics and the humanity of the Thurgood Marshall path to the Supreme Court helps me grant Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination that Changed America as written by Wil Haygood 4.5-stars on a scale of one-to-five stars.

Matt – Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Mitch Rapp and the book ‘Lethal Agent’ by Kyle Mills

Kyle Mills continues the Mitch Rapp series of books (book sequence here) created by Vince Flynn with the eighteenth (18th) book in the series, the fifth written by Mills. With Lethal Agent, we see a familiar Mitch Rapp book focusing on the man, the myth and the legend of combatting terrorism while facing corrupt politicians bent on fighting the apparatus intent on fighting it.

(Kyle Mills succeeded Vince Flynn in writing books with Mitch Rapp as a central character. Mills wrote Lethal Agent, his fifth foray into the Mitch Rapp series).

Lethal Agent cleverly plays upon two concepts in speaking to the subject matter addressed with plot points based in Iraq and Yemen. The threat placed in front on the good people of the world and the folks fighting terrorism at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was of a biological nature; using the fear of unleashing chemical warfare was a first concept of a lethal agent used in this story.

(Alternative book covers for Lethal Agent as written by Kyle Mills).

The second involved Mitch Rapp, continuing his role as a contractor for the CIA while at odds with himself and his current love interest over what his future is as a fighter of terrorism. When the odds get heavy during a United States presidential election season, the nature of the threat includes a drug trafficking pipeline from Mexico to the United States that overlaps with the biological terror storyline. The means for fighting the biological threat offers a latitude to Rapp not seen at the level presented in the Lethal Agent novel.

(Vince Flynn created the Mitch Rapp series of books, writing the first 13 books in the series).

Mitch acts with explicit and lethal authority in fighting a bioterrorism theater in Mexico that is brand new; the beauty of the approach is that old style Rapp appears again. That we’ve been here and done this, for the individual reader, is either great in getting to see this again or awful for seeing this again. Invoking foreign scientists was a positive turn for Lethal Agent written by Kyle Mills, thus helping me to rate the book 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, July 22, 2023

John Coltrane and the album ‘Giant Steps’

The John Coltrane album Giant Steps was released for the first time in January 1960. Originally from Hamlet, North Carolina, Coltrane with his tenor saxophone play was accompanied on this album by Tommy Flanagan of Detroit, Michigan, Wynton Kelly of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Cedar Walton of Dallas, Texas, on piano, Paul Chambers of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on bass, Art Taylor of New York City, New York, Jimmy Cobb of Washington, DC, United States and Lex Humphries of New York City, New York on drums.

(The cover art for the Giant Steps album by John Coltrane).

Giant Steps opens the album of the same name with the lineup of John Coltrane on saxophone, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums. Cedar Walton and Lex Humphries played on alternate versions this song.

Cousin Mary continues with the original lineup, which continued through Countdown, Spiral and Syeeda’s Flute Song.

Countdown‘s opens distinctively with drums, rendering itself as the shortest song on the Giant Steps album.

(John Coltrane in 1963).

Spiral continues the hard bop, jazz instrument stylings of the album.

Syeeda’s Flute Song narrowly comes in as the longest song on the Giant Steps album.

Naima included Wynton Kelly on piano and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Paul Chambers continues on bass with John Coltrane on saxophone. Cedar Walton and Lex Humphries played on alternate versions this song.

Mr. P.C. brings the album to fruition with the original lineup of Coltrane, Flanagan, Chambers and Taylor.

Matt – Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Mitch Rapp and the book ‘Enemy of the State’ by Kyle Mills

Kyle Mills continues the Mitch Rapp series of books (book sequence here) created by Vince Flynn with the sixteenth (16th) book in the series, the third written by Mills. With Enemy of the State, we see that the central star of this universe of books might have met his match by way of an ongoing engagement in parts of Europe, Africa, Asia the Middle East and America that have made Mitch Rapp the enemy of the state referenced in the title.

(Kyle Mills succeeded Vince Flynn in writing books with Mitch Rapp as a central character. Mills wrote Enemy of the State).

Kyle Mills speaks of Enemy of the State this way on his website: “A theme in many of Vince Flynn’s books was his distaste for Saudi Arabia—a distaste that I wholeheartedly share. Despite America’s close ties, there’s just no getting around the fact that it’s a medieval dictatorship that supplied the majority of the 9-11 attackers, it continues to spread radical Islam throughout the world, and it withholds even the most basic rights from women. While our alliance with them might be expedient, it’s a deal with the devil.”

(Alternative book covers for Enemy of the State as written by Kyle Mills).

The story more or less picks up from a point in time soon after the end of Order to Kill, as reviewed here. A tacit agreement had been taken between the previous presidential regime and Saudi Arabia‘s King Faisal to cover up the Saudi involvement in the September 11th attacks in exchange for sweetheart prices for oil consumed in the United States. Part of the deal involved Faisal bringing the culpable elements in within his society to justice. American President Alexander doubts this commitment.

(Vince Flynn created the Mitch Rapp series of books, writing the first 13 books in the series).

A rogue wing of the royal family, Faisal’s nephew Prince Talal bin Musaid, has begun funding ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq). The prince’s thinking has been to position himself as the likely successor to leadership in Saudi Arabia when the king, of deteriorating health, eventually dies. The means and ends to getting to this result, with Scott Coleman still struggling to regain his former health alongside core themes of distrust for political motivations, lead to the core storytelling of Enemy of the State.

(Enemy of the State is the third book written by Kyle Mills in the Mitch Rapp series of books).

Most of the twists and turns of the story of this book offer the cliffhanger qualities that one should expect. There were a couple of a pleasantly surprising nature that particularly pleased me, including part of the story that dealt with a character who had been in North Dakota. The novel’s conclusion was a bit on the mundane side for my liking, though where the larger outcome landed was as good as it needed to be. I rate Enemy of the State as written by Kyle Mills 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Rufus Jones in the Malcolm Venville documentary ‘Theodore Roosevelt’

Theodore Roosevelt of New York City, New York was the 26th president of the United States of America, serving from 1901 through 1909. A survey of his life was offered through the History Channel documentary Theodore Roosevelt (2022), airing in televised episodes originally airing, respectively, on May 30th and May 31st. Malcolm Venville directed the documentary.

(Rufus Jones as Theodore Roosevelt in the Malcolm Venville documentary Theodore Roosevelt).

The opening episode of the documentary, titled The Great Adventure, starts with an introduction of Roosevelt in his childhood as a sickly youngster struggling to fight his way through illness. We literally get a sense of the man taking comfort in physical activity based in affluence and an education that gave the man an appreciation the belied his station; that is, Roosevelt would take an appreciation of the disadvantaged into his sense of the world. Interestingly, the documentary shared an image of Roosevelt and his brother overlooking Abraham Lincoln‘s funeral train from Washington DC to Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, had been assassinated in 1865.

(The historical Theodore Roosevelt, as pictured here, was the subject of the Malcolm Venville documentary Theodore Roosevelt).

The episode introduced us to much heartache for Roosevelt early in his life, including the deaths of his mother and wife, only hours apart on February 14, 1884. The young state legislator of New York had been in Albany, New York when summoned to New York City with the possibility of this news. Having also been away at school when his father died, Theodore Roosevelt as a younger man at the time, the spirit of a fighter through physical activity really summoned itself in this time. The reformer spirit of Roosevelt as the legislator, later as the New York City police commissioner, and an ability to rally public support with a streak of independence against the party ideals that he ran with, the notion of being Vice President of the United States had been a way for the party to quell this spirit led to the conclusion of the Roosevelt story, as told in The Great Adventure).

(The historical William McKinley, the predecessor to Theodore Roosevelt as president of the United States, gave way to his successor after being assassinated in September 1901).

The Man in the Arena picks up from the point of William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, having been shot to death at the 1901 World’s Fair (aka Pan-American Exposition) of Buffalo, New York. Roosevelt would assume the presidency with a philosophy of having those in power play by the rules. The education of Roosevelt in how to conduct this business of trust busting, extending the imperial ambitions of the United States with the Panama Canal, and negotiating his own assertion of power all were points of import for the story documented. The introduction of Roosevelt’s relationship with race was discussed through both episodes of the documentary, including specific interactions with notable leader on race, Booker T. Washington.

(The historical William Howard Taft, the Roosevelt selected successor to Theodore Roosevelt became the 27th president of the United States).

Theodore Roosevelt‘s service as president of the United States ended with the man being less than 50-years old. In addition to having renamed the executive mansion of the United States to the White House, the man found himself restless after ending his presidency. When presidential successor William Howard Taft took his single term in a direction not to Roosevelt‘s liking, the former president ran under the banner of a third party of Roosevelt‘s making in 1912. Roosevelt, notably giving a speech after having been shot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, would place ahead of Taft in that election. That election, however, would be won by 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson.

(The historical Booker T. Washington).

Many significant points of history for Theodore Roosevelt, the man, were introduced within this documentary. The measure of the man himself was addressed for being something that measured the appetite for reform with perceived pragmatics in having the basis for being able to apply it. That the man wasn’t perfect, while moving the dial forward in meaningful ways, feels like the larger message of this experience. I grant Theodore Roosevelt as directed by Malcolm Venville at 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, June 11, 2022

David Baldacci and the book ‘The Collectors’

We return to the David Baldacci Camel Club series of books today with a look into the second book installment from the series, named The Collectors. Released in October of 2006, the book returns with a look into Oliver Stone, Reuben Rhodes, Caleb Shaw and Milton Farb as they become involved in a mystery that brings the mysterious Annabelle Conroy into the mix.

(David Baldacci wrote the Camel Club series of books, which includes the 2006 installment named The Collectors).

An odd pairing of murders brings the Camel Club into a matter of American intrigue including the clubs four members, including Caleb Shaw, Milton Farb, Reuben Rhodes and Oliver Stone. The first murder involves the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The second involves the director of the Library of Congress’s Rare Books and Special Collections Division, which of course puts Caleb Shaw, as an employee of the Rare Book Wing.

(Two alternate covers for the book The Collectors, written by David Baldacci and released in 2006).

Alongside of this, we are introduced to a financial con that is targeted against Atlantic City, New Jersey casino owner Jerry Bagger. The planning, scope and execution of the con offers a parallel intrigue to the investigation into the government murders that connects a history for Annabelle Conroy that offers clear credibility in courage, planning and experience alongside the skillset that prevails among the members of the Camel Club. The mystery we learn of this con unfolding in parallel to the increasing mystery of the core story of the suspicious government deaths.

(The five books of the Camel Club series of books, in order, are The Camel Club, The Collectors, Stone Cold, Divine Justice and Hell’s Corner).

As if the heat underpinning this opening storyline with Annabelle Conroy and Jerry Bagger doesn’t offer sufficient heat of its own accord, the heat level increases for Shaw, Farb, Rhodes and Stone as the curiosity of our core protagonists ratchets up as Shaw is the executor of the rare book collection of his deceased former boss, Jonathan DeHaven. The intersection of DeHaven, Shaw, and other personalities we get to meet make for a truly page-turning experience that made for an engrossing set of mysteries mixed with thriller and intrigue.

(David Baldacci wrote The Collectors as the second installment in the Camel Club book series).

My experience with The Collectors by David Baldacci was a happy one that allows me to grant the novel 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, March 30, 2022